Misfits Season 1 - DVD

Content: Originally, five juvenile offenders Curtis (Nathan Stewart-Jarett), Kelly (Lauren Socha), Nathan (Robert Sheehan), Alisha (Antonia Thomas) and Simon (Iwan Rheon) were only supposed to learn life lessons and rethink their delinquent behavior through community service. But when they are struck by lightning during a strange storm, everything changes for the five. For suddenly they have supernatural powers that they must first learn to deal with. Kelly, for example, hears the thoughts of her fellow men, Curtis can turn back time, outsider Simon becomes invisible in extreme situations and Alisha can turn all men into sex-starved savages with just one touch. Only Nathan doesn't seem to have been changed by the lightning. Quite the opposite of the inherently good-natured social worker Tony, who completely abruptly mutates into a violent beast and tries to kill the teens. After they kill Tony in self-defense, it's now a matter of making his body disappear and trying to get back to normal as best they can. But that's easier said than done, not only because of their newly acquired powers, but also because of the very normal problems of any young person, and also because of the very curious Sally (Alex Reid), Tony's fiancée.

Misfits is a real surprise. If at the beginning there is still the suspicion, especially because of the somewhat raunchy dialogues, that this is rather flat teen entertainment, the mixture of fantasy, comedy and drama soon proves to be extremely multilayered, clever and authentic. Certainly, it's not exactly subtle when, for instance, Simon's general sense of not belonging is further underlined by his newly acquired invisibility. Or that Nathan's desperate search for his supernatural power is a fairly obvious emblem of young people's search for their place in life. But how light-heartedly and true-to-life the series handles these and other themes such as sex, drugs, trust, friendship, problems with parents or first real love sets it well apart from standard series fare for viewers between the ages of 18 and 25.

It is obvious that the makers take their target audience and their problems and fears seriously, but never lose sight of the entertainment factor. Thus Misfits never comes across as too moralistic, doctrinaire or even cheesy. The best examples of this are the budding relationship between Curtis and Alisha, who desire each other but can't have sex in the conventional sense, as Curtis is overcome by lust at the slightest touch from Alisha. Or Sally's attempt to gain Simon's trust, hoping to learn more about Tony's death through the shy outsider, which ends up having tragic consequences. At points like this, the series could have easily degenerated into silliness, buffoonery, or unbearable kitsch. Instead, the viewer is treated to an original production that is at times amusing and at other times very sensitive, all of which combine to make a whole that is more than worth watching.

Next to the very good staging, the authentically dirty look and the atmospheric filming locations in South East London, however, the perfectly selected cast must of course be praised. All five main actors fill their very different characters with life, credibility and rugged charm. So there is at least one identification figure for almost every viewer, which strengthens the bond to the characters even more.

Misfits is probably rather difficult to access for viewers who are used to rather slick US series merchandise. The rather explicit language, the overt use of sex and drugs, and even the odd rather violent moment didn't earn the first season an 18 rating for nothing. But if you can get involved in the successful genre mix, you will be rewarded with an extremely entertaining series, which is aimed more at a teen audience, but you can still have a lot of fun as an adult series junkie. Absolutely recommended!

Picture + Sound: The colors look vibrant, yet somehow authentic. Overall, the picture is free of glitches or smudges, only in darker moments can slight image noise be spotted. Sharpness level and contrast tuning are on a good TV level. The same applies to the sound, which thanks to some good surround effects and the soundtrack is always pleasantly dynamic, but in many scenes is dominated by the frontally mixed dialogue. These sound a little more harmonious in the English language version, but here the sound is only available in a 2.0 stereo mix. Good.

Extras: There are some extras worth watching on the second DVD. Starting with ten short video blogs (each 1 to 2 min.) of all actors, the directors and producers. In addition there are four videos shot by Simon (each about 3 min.). The most interesting extras, however, are four making-of featurettes (approx. 40 min. in total), which go into detail about the casting and the shooting of certain sequences. German subtitles are available for all extras. Good.

Conclusion: Misfits is a highly original series that combines elements of fantasy, drama and comedy into an entertaining and surprisingly authentic whole. While the content of the series is geared more towards a teenage audience, due to the top-notch execution, older viewers can also have a lot of fun with this series. If you want to see how originally you can convey the fears, worries and problems of young people, you should not miss this first season - more of this please!

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp